Bewitched by animated fantasy's charms

ANYBODY who thought they'd never see another Studio Ghibli animated feature after its co-founder Hayao Miyazaki shut down the production department in 2013 will be more than pleased with Mary And The Witch's Flower.

The oh-so-charming animated adventure is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi who understudied Miyazaki for over two decades and became Ghibli's youngest director for a theatrical feature when he helmed The Secret World of Arrietty in 2010.

The 44-year-old followed that up with the equally impressive When Marnie Was There (2014), which was nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar, before establishing Studio Ponoc with his fellow Ghibli alumnus.